A Flash Family Dinner
by Waiting For a Flame
Summary: The Flash clan wants to meet Bart's new boyfriend. Much to Bart's chagrin, Iris invites Jaime to the weekly family dinner. A sequel to 'Crushed'.


"So is there a particular reason you haven't brought Jaime over for dinner?" Iris asked, setting down the twins' lunch down in front of them.

Bart nearly choked on his sandwich. His mind darted across every excuse he could think of, but came up with none. At least none that Iris wouldn't be able to combat. In truth, he should have known that it was coming. Joan kept dropping hints about wanting to meet his new boyfriend. Barry mentioned Jaime once or twice during their patrols. The topic shouldn't have surprised Bart in the least.

"None whatsoever," he excused, grabbing his glass of water a little harder than necessary. "Thought family dinners were strictly family, y'know?" Bart commended himself for that one, it sounded reasonable enough.

Iris raised a brow. "Uhuh. Well, I think it's about time we met him."

"Sure, sure. I'll bring him by one day."

"No, not one day. This Friday." Iris rested her chin in her palm and smirked. "I think it's about time we all met your boyfriend."

Bart slumped in his seat. "What if he has plans?"

"He doesn't. I already called his mother." The speedster's jaw dropped and he nearly fell off his chair. Bart immediately straightened, narrowing his eyes.

"You didn't."

"I did." Iris stirred a spoonful of honey into her teacup. "I knew you'd try to get out of it. What I don't understand is the why. Care to elaborate?"

Before he could even think of a response, Dawn sent her plate toppling to the floor. A moment after, Don's plate followed and both twins giggled in delight. By now, Iris was used to these antics and took a moment to breathe deeply before she stood. "Don't have kids," she warned, pointing at Bart before picking the plates off the floor.

Bart was quick to assist, zapping to the kitchen and grabbing a roll of paper towels to clean up the mess on the floor. "Now I see where I got it from," he teased once the floor was clean, grinning at his father and aunt. "Must be an Allen trait."

"Hilarious, Bart," Iris sighed, returning with the twins' sippy cups. "So, dinner?"

"What are the odds of you letting it go?"

"Slim to none."

"Figured as much." Bart pouted, running a hand through his hair. "It's not that I don't want him to meet you, because I do! It would be so crash to have us all hang out," he defended. He didn't doubt that Bart and Jaime would get along famously. Jaime was very much fascinated with Iris' journalism career and he was sure that they could keep conversation for hours.

"Then why are you so apprehensive?" she asked, wiping Dawn's mouth with a towelette.

"I just don't want to scare him off," Bart admitted, toying with his fingers. "We just started dating, isn't it too soon to meet the family?"

Iris scoffed. "You're at his place nearly every weekend, his family adores you."

"Hypocrisy noted." He downed the rest of his water, glancing at the twins. Would Jaime be freaked out by the tornado toddlers? Would he clam up at all the investigative questions? Jaime's family was so quiet in comparison to his. Oftentimes, Flash family dinners turned into exuberant affairs that went on for hours. A simple dinner could turn into karaoke and then a Harry Potter movie marathon. Comparing that to a casual dinner at Jaime's place, it was no wonder that Bart was concerned. What if Jaime wasn't into that? He hadn't once asked to meet his family, so Bart assumed that he hadn't wanted to meet them yet.

"Good. Then I'll see you both here on Friday, 7PM."

"But-"

"No buts. Except both of yours at the dinner table," Iris warned, picking up her empty plate and taking it back to the kitchen.

Bart could have groaned. Instead he just slumped forward, looking at Don. "Don't suppose you have any of your sage advice handy, do you Dad?"

The toddler stared back at him, green eyes wide. Before Bart could react, a stray piece of turkey went flying at his face. Don giggled, Dawn following suite as the redhead just sighed. As much fun as it was to watch his father and aunt grow up, sometimes he really missed having _his_ father around.

"Bart, could you get the twins down for a nap?" Iris called from the kitchen. "It'll be a useful distraction to your moping."

Bart rolled his eyes before standing from his seat. "Sure, whatever you say Grandma."

"Don't call me Grandma!"

* * *

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Bart pleaded on his boyfriend's doorstep.

Jaime rubbed his sleep-laden eyes, hair disheveled and sticking up in the back. "_Ese_, it's midnight. _Estaba durmiendo_."

Bart had a basic enough grasp of Spanish to understand the latter. "I'm sorry," he said again. If he kept apologizing, one of them were bound to stick, right? At least he'd had the decency to call and give a ten minute warning. Bart had faced the wrath of Bianca Reyes in the early morning hours far too many times to count. "I needed to see you."

Jaime nodded, stifling a yawn as he took Bart's hand and gently dragged him inside. "Just keep it down. I don't think anyone's awake."

"Silencio, got it."

The two boys crept through the silent house, taking extra caution to be slow on the creaky staircase. Only once they were in Jaime's bedroom, with the door closed, did Bart allow himself to speak again. "I'm sorry," he said for the fifth time.

"Sorry for what?" Jaime mumbled, cracking open a bottle of water and downing it to clear the raspiness in his voice. "I'm used to you showing up unexpected."

"No, not that." Bart flopped on Jaime's bed, running his hands down his face. "For Friday night."

"You mean dinner with your family?" The older boy took a seat beside him, resting a hand on Bart's thigh. "Why are you apologizing for that?"

Bart moved his hands away from his face. "For Iris. I didn't know she was going to call your mom like that and make you come over. This wasn't my idea, I had nothing to do with it, I swear," he explained, talking a mile a minute.

Jaime held up a hand, closing his eyes as he tried to process everything Bart had said. "Little slower, _Querido_. It's late, my brain doesn't work as fast in the early hours."

"I'm sorry."

The brunette's eyes softened and he slowly lowered himself so he was lying next to his boyfriend. Bart's green eyes searched Jaime's for any trace of anger, but he didn't find any. Instead, Jaime leaned closer to press a gentle kiss against his forehead. "Hey," he whispered. "Stop apologizing. Did you not want me to come to dinner?"

Bart relaxed at Jaime's touches, only smiling once his boyfriend's fingers started running through his hair. "Of course I want you to come to dinner. Apparently, the Flash clan is dying to meet you."

"So what's the problem?"

"The Flash clan can be… a lot," Bart admitted, pushing himself into an upright position. "I didn't want to scare you away, or pressure you into meeting all of them, you know?"

Jaime smiled, brushing a lock of hair off Bart's forehead. "That's very considerate of you."

"I try, sometimes."

"I want to meet your family," Jaime promised, taking his hand. "We've been dating a couple months now, I think it's time I met them all. You have nothing to worry about, I don't think anything can freak me out anymore."

"Wait until you meet the tornado toddlers."

Jaime raised a brow. "The twins? How bad can a couple of toddlers be?"

"Toddlers with super speed," Bart corrected. "And reckless energy to boot. It takes a massive amount of candy just to get them to keep still."

"Cute." Jaime tilted his head closer to Bart's neck, kissing tenderly. "Tell me about it in the morning. You staying here?"

"Only if you want me to, BB."

Jaime chuckled, tugging Bart down to the mattress. "Just don't vibrate in the middle of the night. I need to sleep."

* * *

Barry had gone above and beyond, and for once it wasn't at Iris' request. The moment he heard about Bart bringing Jaime over for dinner, he dashed to the grocery store and picked up everything they'd need for the best taco night in existence.

"I think it's too much food," Iris noted, warily looking at the various fixings covering the table. "Bart doesn't eat nearly as much as Wally did. We'll have leftovers for weeks." She realized what she'd said only after it came out; Iris quickly looked at her husband, but he was still smiling. Though his eyes were dimmer.

"Didn't want anyone to go hungry," he explained. "Even at the cost of a few leftovers." Barry gave the guacamole one final stir before declaring it done. "Will you grab the tortillas from the oven?"

"Can do." Barry pecked his wife's cheek before carrying the guacamole to the dining room, setting it at the table. Joan and Jaw were already sitting, entertaining the twins best they could. "Giving ya too much trouble?" he asked, grinning once the twins began cheering for him.

"No trouble at all," Jay countered, patting Dawn's head.

"They're little cherubs," Joan cooed. "I can't believe you and Iris won't have anymore."

Barry just smirked, ruffling his son's head. "Sorry, no can do. According to Bart, these are the only two kids in our future. And we couldn't risk destroying the future." It was a convenient enough excuse. In all truth, they could barely handle the twins. Barry and Iris were more than happy to be done with babies after dealing with the tornado toddlers.

"When's Bart getting here?" Joan asked. "We can't wait to meet Jaime. Jay's been looking forward to it all week."

Jay smiled, nodding enthusiastically. "It's not every day we get to meet Bart's new boyfriend. We've heard so much about the young Blue Beetle."

"Ah, ah!" Iris scolded, setting the tortillas down on the table. "No hero talk. Especially not tonight. Jaime is our guest, and I think he'd appreciate it if we kept things… normal."

"Normal is our specialty," Barry reassured, ears perking when he heard the doorbell ring. "I'll get it."

A second later he opened the door, grinning at the two boys. "Right on time. Tortillas just came out of the oven."

Bart raised a brow. "Tortillas?"

"It's taco night." Bart's cheeks flushed, his mind already racing a mile a minute. "You like tacos, Jaime?"

Jaime nodded, squeezing Bart's hand before letting it go and holding it out to Barry. "Love tacos. I'm Jaime Reyes, by the way. It's nice to finally meet you, Sir."

Barry took his hand and shook it enthusiastically before pulling him into a hug. "Never thought I'd ever hear anyone call me 'Sir'. You can leave that business at the Watchtower," he teased. "Feel free to call me Barry."

"Barry it is, then," Jaime said, muffled against Barry's hug.

"Gramps, take it easy before you choke him," Bart warned, trying to smile despite his rampantly beating heart. They hadn't even stepped inside yet and his nerves were already deep-fried.

"What are you guys doing out there?" Iris asked, joining them in the doorway. "It's getting chilly, come inside, please," she asked, holding out her hand to Jaime. "You must be the infamous Jaime."

Jaime beamed, shaking her hand. "And you're Iris. Big fan of your work."

The older woman sighed. "Previous work. I swear, you get pregnant once and then your entire career goes down the drain. You wouldn't believe the sexism of the journalism car-"

"Iris!" Bart exclaimed, smile stretched a bit too wide for his face. "Maybe not right now."

Iris shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry, sorry. Anyway, Barry, why don't you introduce Jaime to Joan and Jay? They've been dying to meet him. Bart can help me finish setting the table." Iris looked back at Jaime, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Mary and Rudy, Wally's parents, usually join us, but they had other plans tonight."

"Next time, then," Jaime said before he was pulled towards the living room.

Bart sighed, rubbing his temple before Iris threw an arm around him. "Hey, relax. Everything's going great. You're stressing yourself out too much."

"I know, I know. I'm just… nervous." Iris led them into the kitchen, thrusting some silverware and napkins into his hands. "I want everything to be perfect, you know?"

"Nothing in life is ever perfect. Just relax, it's all going to be fine," she assured, resting a hand on her shoulder. "No need to go gray-haired before it's time."

"Ha-ha. You're hilarious," Bart said, rolling his eyes as he walked into the dining room. No sooner had he walked in did the twins both throw their arms up, calling out to him. Stressed as he was, he couldn't deny their attentions. Bart set the table in a matter of seconds before scooping up a twin in each arm. "Hell-o tornado toddlers!" he exclaimed, laughing when they pressed wet kisses to his face.

"Bart, Bart!" Don cheered as Dawn clapped her hands.

"Bart, is that you?" Joan's voice called from the living room.

"Sure enough. I hoped that you'd recognize my voice after housing me for two years," Bart said as he entered the room.

"We haven't seen you all day," Jay said, clapping him on the back. "Would it kill you to say hello before leaving the house?"

"Sorry," Bart excused, grinning at Jay before zapping to Joan's side and kissing her cheek. "Busy day. I was needed at the Watchtower." Jaime tried to hide a snicker by coughing, and Bart tried looking anywhere but him. Luckily, the twins chose that moment to whine about getting down from his arms, so he let them.

"Jaime, this is Don and Dawn, the tornado toddlers."

"Also known as his future father and aunt. You get used to the weirdness," Barry admitted with a shrug.

"Believe me," Jaime chuckled. "Weird is my middle name."

"Alright, dinner's good to go!" Iris announced from the dining room. "Come and get it while it's still hot." No sooner had she said it did the twins take off upstairs, leaving Barry to chase after them at equal speed.

"Sorry, about the tacos," Bart said, cheeks tingeing pink. "I don't think they realized."

Jaime shrugged, pressing a quick kiss to Bart's temple. "I love tacos," he reassured. "And these smell amazing."

"Barry's a pretty good cook."

"So, Jaime," Joan said once they were all seated. "How long have you both been together?"

"Oh, friends for years," Jaime began, nudging Bart with a grin. "But we finally made things official two months ago."

"Any college plans?" Iris asked. "I know it's common for a lot of young heroes to take a gap year, but the value of a college degree is incomparable."

"Iris," Bart groaned.

"No, it's okay," Jaime insisted, resting a hand on top of Bart's. "I applied a few places, but I don't know for sure yet. My grades haven't been the best," he admitted. "I might end up doing community college for a while, save some money."

Joan nodded in support. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"I agree." Barry pointed a forkful of rice at Bart. "I hope he's a good influence on you, Bart."

"I try to be. Doesn't always work out that way," Jaime chuckled. The redhead rolled his eyes, but felt himself slowly start to relax.

By the time Jaime and Bart were walking towards the Zeta, the younger boy realized that he had nothing to worry about. By the end of the meal, the entire family adored Jaime. Don insisted that he wanted to sit on his lap all through dessert, and Jaime generously agreed. They all ended up playing a massive game of trivia, and Iris finally won, much to Jay's chagrin.

"So," Jaime said, interrupting Bart from his thoughts. "I think it went well."

Bart smiled, swinging their hands together before looking up at the stars. "Yeah. I think it did too."


End file.
